"And When the Sky Was Opened" is episode eleven of the American television
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
''. It originally aired on December 11, 1959. It is an adaptation of the 1953
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.
He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science ficti ...
short story "Disappearing Act."
Opening narration
The narration continues after Forbes' introduction.
Plot
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Clegg Forbes arrives at a military hospital to visit his friend and co-pilot
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
William Gart. The two had recently piloted an experimental
spaceplane
A spaceplane is a vehicle that can fly and glide like an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and maneuver like a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbital spaceplanes ten ...
, the
X-20
The Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar ("Dynamic Soarer") was a United States Air Force (USAF) program to develop a spaceplane that could be used for a variety of military missions, including aerial reconnaissance, bombing, space rescue, satellite mainten ...
. During their voyage the craft disappeared from radar screens for a full day before reappearing and crash landing in the desert, leaving Gart with a broken leg. Forbes is agitated and asks Gart if he remembers how many people were on the mission. Gart confirms that only he and Forbes piloted the plane, but Forbes insists that a third man – Colonel Ed Harrington, his best friend for 15 years – accompanied them.
In a flashback, Harrington and Forbes are discharged from the hospital after passing their physical exams and visit a bar downtown. While there, Harrington is suddenly overcome by a feeling that he no longer "belongs" in the world. Disturbed, he phones his parents, who tell him they have no son named Ed and believe the person calling them is a prankster. Harrington then mysteriously vanishes from the phone booth and no one but Forbes remembers his existence. Increasingly desperate, Forbes fruitlessly searches for any trace of his friend.
Back in the present, Forbes finishes recounting the story to Gart and is dismayed by his friend's claim that he doesn't know anyone named Harrington. Forbes then glances at a mirror and discovers he casts no reflection, causing him to flee the room in terror. Gart tries to hobble after him only to find that Forbes has disappeared. Calling the duty nurse to ask if she saw where Forbes went, Gart is stunned by the nurse's claim that nobody named Forbes has been in the building and that Gart was the only man who was in the hospital room. Horrified, Gart also disappears.
An officer enters the building and asks the duty nurse if there are any unused rooms available to accommodate new patients. The nurse takes him to the now completely empty room which hosted the three astronauts, telling him that it has been unoccupied. The hangar which previously housed the X-20 is then shown, with the sheet that covered the craft lying on the ground. There is no trace of the plane.
Closing narration
Episode notes
This episode is loosely based on the short story "Disappearing Act" by
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.
He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science ficti ...
.
The story was first published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' (March 1953).
Rod Taylor
Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and ''In ...
and director
Douglas Heyes
Douglas Heyes (May 22, 1919 – February 8, 1993) was an American film and television writer, director, producer, actor, composer, and author with a long list of accomplishments. He was sometimes credited under the pseudonym Matthew Howard.
Pers ...
later worked together on the TV series ''
Bearcats!
''Bearcats!'' is an American Western television series broadcast on the CBS television network during the fall 1971 television season. It starred Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole as troubleshooters in the period before the American entry into World War ...
''
[Stephen Vagg, ''Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood'', Bear Manor Media, 2010 p69]
Toward the end of the episode, Rod Taylor's character, Clegg Forbes, panics when he appears to cast no reflection when looking at a mirror in the hospital room. Due to what appears to be a production error in crafting this illusion, Taylor's right elbow is, in fact, visible in the mirror throughout the duration of this shot, with three fingers of Taylor's right hand appearing in the mirror as well when Taylor raises his hands in horror.
See also
* "
Remember Me", an episode of ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'', in which ship's doctor
Beverly Crusher
Beverly Crusher is a fictional character in the '' Star Trek'' franchise played by Gates McFadden. Debuting in the television series, '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', McFadden appeared in every season except for the second, as well as its sp ...
undergoes a comparable experience.
* "
Revisions", a ''
Stargate SG-1
''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrigh ...
'' episode with a similar plot.
* "
Games People Play", a ''
Eureka
Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
'' episode with a similar plot.
References
Bibliography
*DeVoe, Bill (2008). ''Trivia from The Twilight Zone''. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. .
*Grams, Martin (2008). ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic''. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. .
External links
*
And When The Sky Was Opened , John's Twilight Zone Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:And When The Sky Was Opened
1959 American television episodes
Adaptations of works by Richard Matheson
Television shows based on short fiction
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 1) episodes
Films scored by Leonard Rosenman
Television episodes about multiple time paths
Works about astronauts
Films directed by Douglas Heyes